Even though when most people hear about a slip & fall accident in the city of Kitchener they think of something harmless which is rather a joke, the situation can get very serious. While it’s true that most of the cases only end up with damages on the ego of the victim, there are some incredibly severe injuries which could be suffered in an accident of this particular type. The prime example involves blows to the head and the respective brain trauma. It is also worth noting that spinal cord injuries are also an ever present danger when it comes to slip & fall accidents.

About Occupiers’ Liability Act

The act that governs this particular type of accidents is called the Occupiers’ Liability Act. It was consolidated back in 1990 on the 31st of December and it hasn’t been amended ever since. This speaks to the stability and longevity of the act and the way that it serves the needs of the law. The act is obviously put together perfectly because the fact that it hasn’t been changed means that it serves the needs of the public. This is ultimately what’s most important in the legislation because every single law should be made out with the needs of society as its prime concern. On top of that the legislation should be versatile and flexible because the aforementioned needs change constantly. This means that the law should be able to meet the new demands of society or it would have to be changed. The fact that this particular Act hasn’t been changed for over 25 years clearly states that it is doing a great job adapting to the new trends and tendencies.

The law clearly defines who can be held liable in cases of this particular type – the occupier. The occupier is a term which could be interpreted as an owner or as a tenant, e.g. someone who has the legal responsibility to take care of the premise. A premise in the current act is considered any kind of construction which allows people to enter and stay on it. The accidents can occur while entering or while staying and for that matter even while leaving the premise.

The occupier owes the so called duty of care which requires him to do everything possible in order to provide reasonable safety for the people on his premises. The key term here is reasonable because it’s impossible to provide them with something beyond that. The act also recognizes that the liability can be limited if the person takes a willing risk even though he is well aware of the fact that it could lead to an accident. The solution is rather fair. However, after the accident, irrespective of whether you are the victim or on the other side, having a lawyer in your corner helps.

Personal injury law is versatile and broad. That’s a fact. The reason for this is because it encompasses a large variety of possible causes that could lead to a case of that particular category. At the same time the cases themselves pose a great interest because there are different ways that they could develop into. Right of the bad, it’s important to understand that every province in the country of Canada is capable of coming up with its own particular legislative provisions which are going to be applied on its territory. This is particularly interesting but it’s also important to note that these provisions can’t contradict to the governmental statutes. However, this suggests that the city of Kitchener is going to be governed by the rules set forth by the province of Ontario.

Filing a compensatory claim for damages suffered in an accident is definitely not something that should be taken lightly. You can claim both physical and emotional damages as the law doesn’t make a difference between them when it comes to having merit for a case. However, the amount of compensation which is to be expected is greatly different. While there are currently no limits to your claim when you are seeking compensation for your pecuniary damages, a ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada issued back in 2004 makes it pretty clear that non pecuniary damages can be as much as $300,000. This means that you should fir your claim somewhere in the range between $1 and $300,000. However, if your claim is for more money than this, the court must reduce it accordingly.

Types of damages

Pecuniary damages can be based on documents. In fact, that’s the only way to prove that they have actually incurred. You should keep your medical bills, apothecary receipts and basically every single piece of document which states that you have made expenses in relation with your damages and their recovery. These are the only pieces of documents which you could use to prove that you have actually made those expenses.

Non-pecuniary damages on the other hand can’t be based on particular documentation. These are the so called pain and suffering and it should be based on things which are quite different from documents. For instance, the most common way to prove non-pecuniary damages is to call up a specialist to the stand who is then going to testify that the patients’ condition is indeed worse. The judge has to take these testimonials into consideration and come up with a discretional ruling every single case individually. Non pecuniary damages are incredibly important and they should be taken with the greatest care. Proving them is definitely not easy and a lot of effort should be made in this regard. Working with a good lawyer should be the first step to seek justice.

Personal injury law is an incredibly vast area which envelops a lot of possible causes that could lead a case to be put into this particular category. This is because it involves characteristic behavior of a person which has to be negligent and it has to cause other people injuries. As a result, the injured has the legal right to claim compensation through a claim and the court. The claim should be addressed towards the perpetrator and it should demand a certain monetary compensation for the damages that he had to incur. Of course, it’s really not as simple as it may sound.

The claim has to be properly addressed. The city of Kitchener is within the boundaries of the state of Ontario in Canada, which means that the provincial law is going to take precedence over the governmental laws. As per the procedural regulations set forth in the regional legislation, the claim should be filed in the court on the territory of the city in which the accident has happened. Unlike Contractual and Common law, where the competent court is going to be the one located where the current residency of the defendant lies.

Other important things to be considered when dealing with personal injury claims are preclusive terms. These are such terms which are stipulated within the lawful regulations which demand that a certain legal action is taken in a certain period of time, pre-determined by the law and stipulated in a statute or an act. This is a fair solution and even though there aren’t many preclusive terms, they truly bring a lot of advantages because they help to move the whole procedure a lot faster.

However, the most important act is called the Statute of Limitations and the terms stipulated by it, are preclusive. This means that the right is going to be precluded once the term within which it had to be exercised passes. However, the court is not obligated to follow preclusive terms and in order for it to take effect the opposing party should make an objection and expressly state that the term has passed.

The different injuries derive from different accidents and the laws that govern and regulate them are also various. For instance all kinds of dog attacks and bites which have led to a certain injury of a third party or another domestic animal are regulated by the Dog Owners’ Liability act which puts the responsibility of the owner within certain limits. Another example for an act governing a large part of personal injury cases is the Occupiers’ Liability act which governs accidents related with slip and fall mishaps which are probably one of the most common reasons for compensatory claims in the city of Kitchener.

Even though it may seem like there are a lot of causes for personal injury claims in the city of Milton, and in reality – there really are, it is important to set them aside from insurance claims which are something completely different. There are three important legal premises which are set forth in the Common Law of the country of Canada and as such are enforceable on its territory and in every state, despite of the provincial laws. In order for a case to be considered as a personal injury material the incident must include negligent behavior, damages and a causality link.

Obviously the most important thing of them all, are the damages because they would be subjected to compensation. Ergo, if there are no damages the claim won’t have merit because there won’t be anything to seek compensation for. However, the damages discussed can be either physical, emotional or both. Even though the law differentiates them as pecuniary and non-pecuniary, in reality the general differentiation is based upon the fact whether or not there are visually comprehended by third parties. Physical damages are going to leave a mark on the tissue of the person which can be perceived by other people, whereas emotional damages are impossible to be seen and they are assessed in each case discretionally by the court. This suggests that the assessment of physical damages is based upon selected documents which serve as proof and the assessment of emotional trauma is based upon the discretion of the court.

Going further, the second legal premise which serves as grounds for filing compensatory claim is called negligent behavior. As per the current Canadian legislation, enforceable in the city of Milton, negligent behavior is this which is breaching some particular legal provisions, most commonly the duty of care, and it is not constituted as criminal. The negligent behavior is also incredibly important because without it you are going to be in front of a simple insurance claim where the Rules of Fault Determination would take over and the compensation will be distributed as per them.

The third thing that is required by the Common Law of Canada is the so called causality link. This implies that the negligent behavior is the only and direct cause of the damages and without it the latter could not have occurred. Failing to prove this may lead to some serious procedural complications and possible dismissal of the case. This is why it is incredibly important to be well aware of the factual and circumstantial situation and environment surrounding the case in order to prevent any further surprises. These three legal premises formulate the core of a personal injury claim and losing or failing to prove each one of them is likely to get your case dismissed.

Personal injury law derives from a larger institute of the law which is commonly referred to as tort law. However, tort law refers to every single case of civil misconduct and in order to narrow it down, the personal injury law only relates to causes which involve negligent behavior. Such causes include motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents, public transit accidents, dog bites as well as product liability. Some of the most common injuries caused by incidents of this particular regard include traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries as well as a variety of different orthopedic injuries.

The injuries can be both emotional and physical and the law of the province of Ontario, located in Canada, likes to categorize the injuries in two particular, main kinds. The first one is commonly referred to as pecuniary damages which are also known as special damages. Now, the most important factor that should accounted for is that the amount of these damages that is due compensation is solely based upon documentation. Prove of the amount of pecuniary damages may include medical bills, apothecary receipts, contracts with rehabilitation facilities and many more.

However, pecuniary damages are special in a way because they envelop a part of the incurred damages which are not actually suffered as a direct result of the injury. This refers to a stipulation in the Family Act of Canada which empowers family members to file compensatory claims on personal behalf of the injured without having to be specifically authorized to do so. However, the damages which are most commonly claimed are based on the loss of income. It is difficult to seek treatment and pay medical bills without a source of income.

Basically, whenever someone suffers from a serious accident and he is unable to recover quickly enough, his salary and respective monthly and yearly income is going to be reduced. The employer has the full right to do so because his labor contract clearly states other working conditions and requirements which the injured person cannot fulfill. This results in a loss of income for the whole household. However, it is very important to take into consideration the money which has already been paid by the insurance companies and other social structures. Make sure that you are not claiming anything in excess because you are not entitled to it.

One of the general principles of the Canadian Common Law states that no one is entitled to more than he has actually lost and receiving it would be subject to appeals and eventual return. This will only increase your legal charges and expenses and will make your case harder. That’s why it’s important to account for these things prior to filing your claims. Make sure to run these things by the personal injury lawyer that you have set your sight on in the town of Lindsay.

The city of Kitchener is located within the boundaries of the state of Ontario in Canada. This automatically suggests that the Provincial laws of Ontario are going to take preference over the governmental statutes set forth in the country of Canada. However, the important thing to know is that the variations are incredibly slight and they are unlikely to change a ruling. However, there are certain things that are different and personal injury lawyers should be careful not to get them confused.

One of the most common causes for a personal injury case is a slip and fall accident. There are a lot of interesting things in regard to the legal matter of the case. On first sight a slip and fall accident may seem like nothing that is concerned by the law because it apparently shows negligence on behalf of the injured because he didn’t watch his steps. However, there is general legal principle which lies within the provisions of the Common Law in Canada, which clearly stipulates that every owner or occupier, who is a tenant for the most parts, is legally required to take all the necessary precautions to ensure that his property does not cause harm to any third parties or other buildings. This is a fair solution but it has nothing to do with personal injury law.

This is where the more particular and precise Occupiers’ Liability Act comes into place. The regulations set forth in this particular law are fully enforceable in the state of Ontario and therefore in the city of Kitchener. The Occupiers’ Liability Act provides regulations which supersede the general duty of care which are derivative from the legal principle set forth in the Common Law. The behavior that the owner and respectively the occupiers owe pursuant to this act is more strict and wide. They must ensure that upon entering the establishment the clients are not going to get hurt. The same is in full force for the event in which they are leaving. As you can see the responsibilities and the duty of care are both wider and demand a particular behavior – the ensuring of precautions.

This is why if someone slips and falls in a commercial establishment, for instance, and there is no sign that alerts the customers of the possible dangers, the owner or the occupier are going to be fully liable for the damages that the injured party had to incur. It is important to note that loved ones of the injured can also file claims on behalf of him without having to be explicitly and particularly authorized to do so. This provision derives from the Family Act which allows family members to claim particular damages exclusively without authorization or power of attorney. It is best to talk with a legal firm to get an accurate evaluation on your case.